I have to admit, I am a huge Mamet fan. I love his rapid-fire dialogues. I love his in-your-face stories. I love his quirky characters. Though now living in New England, Mamet is all Chicago. So.. maybe that's why I like him.

Whatever the reason, Heist is a roller coaster of a script with a great cast. I was expecting a twist, a surprise, a con. And then it came. And it wasn't the thing, as Mamet would say. When we finally got to the thing, I was still left thinking "Are we there? Or is he going to get me again?"

Walking out of the theatre, my husband and I talked about what was the real question of Heist. I came to the conclusion it was ?How far would you go for...?? So, how far would you go for a lot, I mean a lot of money? How far would you go for loyalty? How far would you go for freedom? How far would you go to save your own skin? Or someone else's? How far would you go for _____ (here's where you fill in the blank.)

Mamet asks this question more than one way and one time in Heist. We watch unbelievably complicated robberies planned and executed, with twists and turns that leave your head spinning. Hard-hitting dialogues that ring humanly true seeded with witticism take you on a journey that you will not put all together in your theatre seat. Well, at least I didn't and still haven't. So the question remains, how far would you go?

Mamet's main character, Joe Moore (played by Gene Hackman) and Fran, his wife (played by Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet's real life wife), are willing to go pretty far. In order to make things come together Joe sends his wife Fran to seal the deal with Bergman (DeVito) and Bella (Rockwell). In order to find out if Fran is giving them the straight story, Bella rips off her dress and takes her to bed. So both Fran and Joe are willing to go at least that far for the money. Will they go further?

The thing that I found interesting about this, is that I am watching Rebecca Pigeon play the role of Fran. Her back is to the camera, or the audience, but it is clearly Rebecca Pigeon and she is facing Sam Rockwell in order to play out her part. So, Mamet is willing to go as far as undressing his wife in front of another man in order to tell a story. Interesting. How far would you go?

I enjoyed Heist. I came away thinking, as I do with any of the very clever thief-con films, that I am not smart enough for a life of crime. And that I am very grateful that I never walked down that road. And that because I have chosen a life of following Christ, many of the decisions and questions asked in the film I will never have to make or answer. How far will I go? For money, not very far. For my soul or yours, far.

In Heist we watch many faces of loyalty and betrayal played out. It is not a new story, and it won't be the last time we see it. I recall a significant test of loyalty that took place in a garden. Only one party passed that test. Christ was betrayed with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of us recall the story told in Matthew. ?Then all the disciples left Him and fled.? Judas rings out in our minds. He is called the betrayer. He sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver. But all the disciples sold Him out. Not one stayed with Him. Then Jesus answers the question of the Mamet film, ?how far will you go?? Only the fill in the blank for Christ was two answers in order to be obedient and to save the world from sin. And the answer was all the way.

The Bible tells us that Christ gave it all up for obedience and love. He gave it up to the point of death and beyond. Because He didn't stop at dying for your sin. He turns around and says to you, ?now take the gift of my death and also receive eternal life.? So, how far would you go to live eternally? How far would you go to be free from sin? How far would you go to experience unconditional love? How far would you go to accept the gift of forgiveness from the Son of the Living God, the Creator of heaven and earth? I pray and hope, far enough to say yes.